Free weekend event will sell food, goods, services from women-owned businesses in Wichita
About 20 women-owned businesses will fill the space at the Evergreen Park Recreation Center on Saturday morning for an event called HER Wichita: Women’s Business Market.
Empower and the Miss Wichita Scholarship Organization have partnered to showcase local businesses during International Women’s History Month.
“This brings all these small, local owned businesses into the north end community, so I think that’s one benefit. On the flip side, it’s also about getting people to come out and support these women-owned businesses — some of them that many people have not heard of,” said Ariel Rodriguez, Empower’s executive director.
The partnership came to be after Courtney Price-Dukes mentioned the idea to Rodriguez. Price-Dukes is serving as Miss Sedgwick County 2022 under the Miss Wichita Scholarship Organization.
“The Miss Wichita Scholarship Organization is very open and adamant about making sure that we are empowering women in anything that we do,” Price-Dukes said.
“When we brought this idea to them (Empower), they were 100% supportive of it and were willing to to help us in any way, so when we figured that they wanted to be there to support us in this goal of lifting other women, it was just the perfect partnership,” Price-Dukes said.
Vendors at the market include 2-U Auto, Ncredibly Sweet, and Konkeh Artisan Alfajor Pastries among others, Rodriguez says.
The businesses will offer products and services ranging from pastries, other food, tea products, boutique stationary gifts, flower arrangements, health and wellness services and a mobile car wash and detail service.
The event is free for vendors and attendees. It will run from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 19 at the Evergreen Park Recreation Center, 2700 N Woodland St.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 2:47 PM.